Alex Lloyd

Alex Lloyd was introduced to music courtesy of his father's beat-up old guitar, and the sessions father and son spent working their way through a Beatles songbook. Alex tended to prefer the group's latter, more experimental stuff. But it was Alex's Irish Catholic grandmother who first recognized the boy's talent for music. After watching him perform in a production of the musical 'Oliver Twist' she encouraged him to join the choir at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, a prestigious vocal group.

Tunics, two hours of religious studies daily and the discipline which comes with being in a choir took its toll and Alex quit to pick up a guitar instead. His teenage years were spent playing at every opportunity - in the bedroom, at parties, busking on the streets of Balmain. Eventually he came to notice as lead singer of Sydney indie band Mother Hubbard. who were popular for their live performances and achieved some degree of success on record.

In all the bands he'd been in Alex had tended dominate, telling the other band members what to do. After one Mother Hubbard album Alex had wanted to take a major musical shift, towards more of a technology-based sound. The members agreed to differ about the direction Alex wanted to take, leaving the singer to record the songs he had written for the next album as a solo, instead of a group album. It also allowed him to throw himself much deeper into that technology than he might have if he'd still been recording with Mother Hubbard. Instead of manipulating musicians to do his will, he was manipulating machines. And to some extent the machines started manipulating him. The more he worked on the songs the further he moved from the album he had initially imagined.

Demo sessions started in early 1997 in tiny studios around Sydney's inner west. He might spend a month on a song trying to come of with the perfect balance between technology and traditional instruments and having found that balance, then needing to start on a song all over again. Then recording sessions proper began in early 1998, with Daniel Denholm contributing string arrangements and good friend Trent Williamson engineering and programming with Alex. Halfway through, Alex was invited to attend Miles Copeland's legendary songwriting workshop at a medieval French castle. He was in two minds about going. Halfway through his album he didn't want to suddenly be swayed by other people's songwriting methods. Despite his reservations he attended, and the experience showed him that he'd been working on his own for too long, a year writing, and another year recording. He decided to finish the album in Santa Monica California with former Psychedelic Fur and now producer Ed Buller (Pulp, Suede).

This third phase of the process wasn't easy. Alex Lloyd and Ed Butler took time getting used to each other. There were massive arguments. Sometimes Alex just had to let go and leave the studio to let Ed do his thing. Meanwhile, friendships made in Hollywood culminated in the song 'Lucky Star', which touches on the surreal lives of celebrities through the eyes of one who feels more observer than participant.

The end result of all of Alex's efforts was 'Black The Sun', an innovative highly contemporary album, deftly balancing the songs with musical experimentation. Alex supported the album with live performances, determined to display the songs as songs rather than studio creations. A year after its release the 'Black As Sun' album was still raising eyebrows, still winning fans and earned Alex Loyd a belated ARIA award for Best Male Artist on the basis of one of the singles. In the end 'Black As Sun' sold in excess of 100,000 copies in Australia alone and enjoyed critical acclaim internationally.

Lloyd considered producing the follow-up album himself, but a single conversation with English producer Magnus Fiennes changed his mind. 'Watching Angels Mend' was recorded over five months in London. The third album 'Distant Light' was recorded relatively quickly at home in Sydney.

Alex Lloyd took a break. He had married, became a father and was unsure whether he wanted to continue in a music career. In that mood he severed his ties with his management and record company, but also started writing new songs, the songs which he recorded with famed Seattle producer Rick Parashar with musicians Parashar had assembled in the studio. For the first time Alex Lloyd surrendered himself and his songs. The result 'Alex Lloyd' was released in August 2006, Alex the first Australian signing by the newly combined SonyBMG. Lloyd is now managed by his wife.